<p>Trying to figure out what to do about S's health insurance for next year (freshman year). School offers coverage, which can be waived if he has other coverage. Not exactly sure of cost or deductibles, but we currently have high-deductible (catastrophic) coverage, as we are both self-employed and that's all we can afford. We have a HSA but it doesn't have very much in it, due to some large expenses the past 2 years (one-time things).</p>
<p>Our current coverage is through HMSA, a Hawaii outfit. So, all participating providers are here. Son is going to CO, but will also be back here (we're guessing) for summer and winter break. Does the University coverage usually cover treatment in the home state? Does it cover the student over the summer, or just for 10 months?</p>
<p>We really can't afford to carry him on our plan and also pay for the school's plan, but we don't want him to be uncovered for part of the year. I'd rather have him on the school plan, as it's probably more comprehensive, and maybe less expensive. What do other folks do?</p>
<p>We have the college coverage for our son and it covers him for 12 months. He can also use the same primary care doctor we have used for years when he is home.</p>
<p>Did a little searching and it seems to be school-dependent. So I guess I have to get some more specific info from the school and possibly look into other plans for him as well.</p>
<p>I’m surprised any school’s plan doesn’t cover the full 12 months–otherwise the kids have to buy some short-term coverage for the summer–which is cheap, but a pain to get in and out of every year. </p>
<p>H and I are also self-employed and H was in our state’s high risk pool (insane cost, poor coverage) for years due to pre-existing conditions. We now are both in an ACA plan that saves us $700/month and has better coverage–have you looked into whether you can find something better in the ACA marketplace for you and H?</p>
<p>Ha. The deductibles for the new plans available to us, that we can afford (we’re both over 50), are even higher than our current plan, and the premiums are higher. Our current plan was "medically underwritten (meaning we had to be healthy to get in) and will disappear at the end of 2014. We may have to just pay the penalty ifwe can’t find something. On the other hand, we might get a subsidy, since we have been making less than I’d predicted. </p>
<p>I tried to get some info and our state “health connector” was of no help. I put in all of our info and about 3 weeks later got a letter telling me that we don’t qualify for Medicaid (duh). Never heard anything further (maybe because I answered that we already have insurance). Very frustrating! </p>
<p>Anyway, I have figured out that the first step is to get more info about the school’s plan, and also other options available for my son.</p>
<p>I think you will find the student health insurance offered by the school will be the most affordable as it is a reduced risk pool and generally you will be receiving group pricing. However, There was an earlier thread on this topic that showed that there is a wide variation in cost from school to school, I feel lucky that my son’s is only $814 a year. Especially since we already have insurance, but it was not sufficient for the school as it is in an area that is out of our network, so we could not get a waiver. They require the insurance to cover routine care locally, emergency coverage is not enough.</p>
<p>Carefully review the school’s plan. They do vary. My daughter school coverage is far superior to mine. In our case, the school’s coverage save us almost enough to pay it. Her plan covers Sept 1 to Aug 31. Her coverage is nationwide. The nice thing is her that plan covers many things that can trip up a student financially such as glasses and medical needed transport to the ER.</p>
<p>If the school plan is good I urge you to buy it if you can. I have heard of many stories from my daughter about friend’s (and her) trips to the ER and operations for things like torn ACLs. Thing happen.</p>
<p>You need to check with the school as to what it will cover of your child’s HI medical expenses. We also have HMSA (HI’s BCBS plan). Ours covered our kids for any medical expenses they incurred anywhere in the US; providing more coverage if we used a participating and preferred provider. We have a PPO plan with no deductible.</p>
<p>Our kid’s was VERY specific and particular about what you had to have in your kid’s insurance to be able to get a waiver and not have to purchase the university’s policy (which was a pretty decent one, but not as good as the family coverage we already had). We had to get a letter from our insurer, specifying that the current coverage our kids had included lifetime max of $1M or more, no deductible higher than xxx amount, and other requirements. Ours exceeded those and we did get the letter written every year.</p>
<p>A caution about insurance policies that have geographic or other limitations. We have a friend who had a family Kaiser (HMO) policy. Their D had a bad injury in college 3500 miles away, and had to be transported by ambulance to a nearby hospital for treatment. The hospital where she was transported and received treatment was NOT participating in their plan, so they ended up with a HUGE bill because they had opted out of their university’s coverage. It would have been a lot cheaper for them to have had dual coverage on their D and had treatment covered. After that, they had dual coverage for all kids at all Us.</p>
<p>Kids DO have accidents and can need treatment, so be sure you look into the cost and benefit of coverage. You can also see if your HI providers will accept the university insurance. Good luck! College insurance policies vary tremendously, so study the policy carefully to see what you are getting for the premium. Also be sure to get any waiver you may wish to get from having to purchase university insurance before their deadline or you may not have any choice.</p>